


Unbridled Hearts

by HappyCaracal



Series: Chocobo Team [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Sports, Chocobos, F/F, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 02:21:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13603536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappyCaracal/pseuds/HappyCaracal
Summary: When Prompto steps into the world of chocobo riding, he only means to be a farmhand to afford going to the associated university. After all, he's always wanted to interact with chocobos, even if he doesn't intend to make a career out of it. But while working at the farm, he meets the rising star members of the chocobo team, and he gets pulled into their world deeper than he could have imagined.





	Unbridled Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> The relationships in the tags and warnings won't come into play in this one, as this is sort of a potential set up for a series I would like to add little one-shots to. I'm sorry for any confusion this may cause.

Chapter One

            Prompto was one hundred percent sure he was going to die.

            Not even in a cool, dramatic way. This was going to take the cake of stupidest ever way to die. He’d make headlines. Not just local headlines, national headlines. Hell, international headlines. People would be laughing at him in Accordo.

            Cause of death? Puking on his boss. His scary, super-muscular-for-an-old-guy boss. The nametag on his jacket said Cid, such a simple, unassuming name for the man who would surely kill him. Not even badass, like Goliath or some shit. No. It was going to be Cid.

            Why was Prompto going to puke?

            _Because he was so damn excited!_

            Of all the jobs that could’ve accepted him, this was the one he was praying for. So what if he had to work his way through college? So what if he was up to his gills in debt and he was only a month into the first semester? He had a job working with _chocobos! Chocobos!_

Anyways, the debt was totally his fault. He could’ve gone to a cheap community college anywhere else in Lucis. His parents would’ve been able to get him into just about anything. But he couldn’t leave Insomnia behind. Insomnia was home. He’d be close to so many opportunities, especially for clientele for a photography business, and even if his parents travelled out of city, he’d still get to see them when he came home.

            And the art program! Astrals above, that would look so nice on a resume!

            So he buckled up for the long ride towards the end of high school. When Prompto had mentioned his interest to his parents, they were both one hundred percent supportive, yet brutally honest. The University of Insomnia was outside of their budget. They could help him when he needed it, but they couldn’t cover all of it. And Prompto understood. His senior year was spent in preparation, achieving high grades and hunting down scholarships. When he had the smallest amount of free time, he threw himself into a few minimum wage jobs to build up a small amount of savings on the side.

            So, he didn’t have to take out _that_ many loans. But the amount always seemed _so high_ , especially to someone fresh out of high school.

            With a future of debt to repay and the free time out of class, it was reasonable to pick up at least a single job to provide himself some pocket change, maybe even add to his savings. He applied to a variety of places, many retail and fast food, but a little research brought him here, to the university farm. With _chocobos._

            Even then, he shouldn’t have qualified. He had _no_ experience with the animals (though not for lack of trying). But Cid had called, voice all gruff and tired, to grumble, “I don’t need someone who thinks they know best because they owned a bird or two as a kid. You ain’t got any bad habits to work out, and your resume suggests you work pretty damn hard when you want to. So, city boy, I’ll give you a test run, and you’ll be on if you don’t disappoint.”

            Only under the threat of torture would he reveal that he squealed the instant he was off the phone.

            So here he was, at a chocobo barn in the heart of Lucis. Musky feather odor emanated from the numerous stalls, where curious birds stuck their head out to greet them with a friendly chirp. The array of colors were dazzling; reds, greens, blues, even a black, and there in the back was a _gold_ …

            Prompto must have looked as starstruck as he felt because Cid’s expression softened just a tad, and he gave a wave towards one of the birds.

            Unable to stamp down his grin, he bounced towards the closest, a lovely teal bird that let out a kweh of excitement at his approach. The name tag on her door stated that she was a female by the name of Aqua. With a shaking hand, Prompto reached out and Aqua burbled in delight, shoving her feathery head under his fingers in clear demand. Every feather was so soft, much more than he could have ever imagined. Behind him, Cid chuckled, resting a hand on his shoulder as Prompto indulged the chocobo. He kept his voice quiet, though whether that was for Prompto or the chocobo, the freshman couldn’t say. “She’s one of our jumpers. You’ll learn the distinction if you get to stay.” The chocobo warbled, butting Prompto with her head, and he began to choke up at the sheer beauty before his eyes.

            The words were out of his mouth without thought. “I love her.”

            Cid huffed a laugh, quirking an eyebrow. “We’ll see if that’s still the case when you’re shoveling her shit out of there. Anyways-“ With a gentle squeeze, he encouraged Prompto down the barn aisle, keeping his stroll slow so that his new employee could take everything in. “Number one rule is that the birds come first, no matter what. Having them here is a privilege.” Prompto only half listened as he gazed at all the birds, barely containing his excitement as his whole body trembled. “We only have them through the good graces of the school president. His son joined the chocobo team as an extracurricular, and so the president supports us with donations to ensure our chocobos are well taken care of. I imagine you know of Regis Lucis Caelum?”

            At the name, Prompto snapped to attention, glancing over at Cid with startled eyes. “That dude from orientation?”

            Cid couldn’t help a guffaw as he showed Prompto the tack room. “Yes _, the president of the school._ You’ll probably see him a lot when his son comes to ride.” One callused hand patted on the saddles, all of which were arranged on a wall with a metal rack to support them. Emblazoned on the backs were numbers, though a few had specific names. While he originally assumed them to be names of the birds, the delicately inscribed _Noctis Lucis Caelum_ disabused him of the notion. “Now, second big rule. You listen to me, Cindy, and your better judgement. Don’t let those riders boss you around. When you get more experience, you’ll be able to tell if someone isn’t handling their bird properly. You come get me or my granddaughter, you got it?”

            Prompto bit his lip and nodded. How could he forget Cindy, the beautiful woman who had led him in? He would’ve listened to her anyways. Even the thought brought a blush to his face.

            The pink brought a scowl to Cid’s face full force. “Now, don’t you go being stupid and catching a crush on my granddaughter. She’s one of your bosses, got it? Not a piece of ass for you to go chasing. ‘sides, she don’t go for men anyways.” Prompto opened his mouth to say something, but all that escaped was strangled gurgling as his embarrassment tried to choke him. Cid swatted at his shoulder to lead him out of the tack room. “We’ll get your schedule set up once I run you through the ropes. How much do you think you know about chocobos?

 

*           *           *

 

            Only on day four, and Prompto’s mind was twirled tight into a knot. The photography classes weren’t so bad, but some of his Gen Ed requirements? Why the hell did he need _science courses?_

            Fortunately, having all of his classes in the morning put him on afternoon barn shift, and that meant switching the chocobos around in their paddocks. The birds were always so excited to go outside for the night, and the ones who came in were always okay with some cuddling. Even better was that both Cid and Cindy seemed to approve of him. Astrals, he so dearly wanted to keep this job. Chocobos didn’t care if you were gangly and awkward and still had paint on your face from your early morning art class.

            Anyways, next on the list to take out was Stella. He always had to lead her to paddock five alone, even if she got along with the other birds, just because she was a Royal Black. From what Cid had said (and Prompto’s few days of experience), Royal Blacks had been bred for height and elegance, an echo of when kings and queens had ridden black chocobos back in the days before cars and the economic boom that had led to Insomnia’s rapid development in technology. Now, they were used in dressage riding almost exclusively. Watching one of those classes was like watching a dance; Prompto couldn’t even see what the birds were responding to when they performed elegant maneuvers and feats of skill he had no idea were even possible. On top of that, their riders all seemed to be motionless, as though they weren’t the ones offering the most subtle of instructions to the birds.

            Outside of an arena, however? Royal Blacks were exceptionally high strung, and _man_ , did they have attitude. On top of that, they were wickedly smart. Their only flaw was that they were rather delicate, and one had to take absolute care when raising them. But he loved them anyways. If Cid thought his love for chocobos would burn out at the sight of a challenge, he was sorely mistaken.

            Upon entering the stall, Stella lifted her head from where she was curled up in her bedding. At the sight of Prompto holding her halter, she warbled an excited greeting, fluffing her feathers in the universal chocobo signal that a good scratching was welcome. Ever the sucker, Prompto beamed at her. “Alright, alright, spoiled girl. A few scratches, but then we’re going outside, okay?” Stella only kwehed at him and leaned her neck into his fingers as he sought out her favorite spots. When he was done, he signaled her to stand for him, but her eyes narrowed, reminding him rather of a child about to throw a tantrum.

            Prompto only laughed and put on her halter. “None of that, now. We both know you want to go play with the other ladies.” Stella huffed at him, then rose to her feet with evident reluctance.

            Behind her was a thud and a loud groan.

            Prompto hopped back with a shriek as a man sat up from the bedding, rubbing the back of his head with a scowl. Ocean blue eyes fixed Prompto with a glare that was remarkably like Stella’s.

            “You could’ve woken me before you took my bird,” came the petulant grumble. Those eyes scanned his body and face before he raised an eyebrow at Prompto’s growing blush. “Oh. You’re the new farmhand.”

            Prompto gaped at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

            When no response was forthcoming, the man sighed, ruffling his hair to get out the dust. “Well, I’m Noctis.” He stuck out his hand. “Nice to finally meet you, despite the circumstances.”

            For a moment, Prompto’s mind blanked, though Noctis waited for him to get himself together and take his hand. “Oh, I’m Prompto.” With his other hand, he rubbed the back of his neck with a self-conscious chuckle. “Sorry about that. I didn’t see you there. Is Stella really yours? She’s such a good bird, and she’s so well taken care of!”

            Noctis smirked at the words, and at the expression, the realization of the _Noctis_ he was talking to caught up to him. _President’s son. Donates enough to the team to keep it afloat. Astrals smite me, and he’s cute, damn it!_ “Yeah, she’s mine. Puts up with me pretty well.” Almost as in answer to the words, Stella preened before pushing Prompto with her head. “Anyways, looks like she’s ready to go. Check next time, would you?” Before Prompto could answer, Noctis stepped out of the stall with a wave. Stella clucked after him, then tugged Prompto down towards the barn exit in clear demand.

The force startled a laugh out of him, despite his embarrassment. “Easy, girl! We’re going!”

At such a cheerful, bright sound, Noctis turned to watch the other man go, chocobo bounding at his side, and was helpless as a smile tugged at his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> Woah, this was a spur of the moment fanfiction! I hope you enjoy! I don't know if any of you are into equestrian sports, but the sport here is loosely based off of IHSA. I've been working at horse shows for a few years now, and the world there is so intriguing to me. So, this story is meant to be a collection of cute interactions in this setting. Some will be fluffy, some will be sad, but I hope you have fun reading it nonetheless! :D
> 
> As for my other works, I'm definitely not done with them, but I was craving something more lighthearted than what I've been working on recently. As usual, please feel free to leave comments or critiques, I love interacting with everyone! If I've made any errors, I'd be happy to fix them, and if you have any questions about IHSA or the industry this is based from, I'll do my best to answer them!


End file.
